WARRINGTON Borough Council has defended its high level of borrowing by announcing its surplus from investments.

The council currently has a borrowing level in the region of £1.7billion.

Being under the control of Labour Party councillors, Warrington's Labour group issued a statement on behalf of the council regarding an investment surplus.

Warrington Guardian: Warrington currently has a borrowing level of £1.7billionWarrington currently has a borrowing level of £1.7billion (Image: Maps)

According to the group, the council made a surplus of £25.3million from its diverse investment portfolio last year.

Warrington Borough Council is not allowed to borrow money in order to pay for public services such as social care or education, but it can borrow money to fund investments.

It is hoped that these investments then make up for the shortfalls caused by reduced government funding toward local councils.

According to the statement from Warrington's Labour Party, the council has faced real-terms budget cuts of around £170million since the Conservatives entered office in 2010.

No mention was made in the Labour Party's statement of Warrington Borough Council's venture into the energy sector, having part-funded doomed supplier Together Energy, which went bust and could result in costing the council millions earlier this year.

In response to scrutiny over the council's high level of borrowing, the statement said: "With an asset value of £2.3billion, if the council was to sell all its investments it would comfortably make back more than the cost of its borrowing."

Deputy Leader of Warrington Borough Council, Cllr Cathy Mitchell, said: "We invest in policies that help our community such as helping us to be greener, helping us to build new homes and supporting our local economy.

“That is what Warrington has done, last year we made a surplus of over £20million. That’s after all the interest payments and costs have been made.

“That’s an extra £20million we wouldn’t have if we hadn’t invested in our future."

Cllr Mitchell continued: "It is simply wrong to say our investment portfolio is performing badly, we are making money from it and we are delivering on our policy objectives, it’s performing well.

“All of our investments must pass strict due diligence rules, just like buying a house we make sure to do all the appropriate checks before we exchange contracts."

Warrington Borough Council's current level of borrowing stands in the region of £1.7billion, and it made a surplus on investment of £25.3million last year.

The full amount lost by Warrington Borough Council due to the collapse of Together Energy has not been announced, but it was claimed reports of a £52million loss were 'inaccurate.'